Chapter 37
Dizzy took a deep breath as she leapt from the Leninov's airlock. She was floating freely in space, and while her helmet did restrict her head movement. There was so much that she could see! Dizzy had always known that space was big, but it was like telling someone taller than her, (which was everyone), what big was. It was something that could never really understood until you could see it for yourself.
And here she thought that Tartarus had been impressive while looking through the cameras mounted on the Leninov. It was nothing until she could see it with her own eyes. It was so majestic, and awe inspiring, and she was one of the first to have seen it up close.
She could stare at Tartarus for hours if she could, but sadly, she could not. She had a job to do, and she was rapidly floating towards the Discovery One, if she didn't start paying attention, she was going to run into the ship. She was wearing a rocket pack on her back, she fired the thrusters and slowed her movement forward, using them to come to near as complete a stop that she could. They were about ready to transfer the Discovery One's excess fuel over to the Leninov, using the rocket pack, she rotated around back towards the Leninov, to discover that fuel docking hoses were on their way over behind her. The process was supposed to be automatic, but they wanted to make sure that everything went according to plan. Sparky had given them a time table for when they needed to depart, twelve hundred RMT, a little under eleven hours from now, and Præsidium technology had a habit for failing just when they needed it the most, and they could not afford it. Not this time.
The plan was, after leaving orbit, Hannibal would remote fire the Discovery One's engines, burning up whatever fuel it had left for an initial burn. Once it had momentum, gravity would take care of the rest and it would fall back towards home. Sparky projected that it would arrive in about eighteen months. Dizzy frowned, she thought about Hannibal and how he was going to be alone during that time. Dizzy couldn't imagine what it would be like to be alone for so long. After becoming part of the crew of the Leninov, Dizzy could hardly imagine what it was like to be by herself any more at all. She didn't want to be by herself. Even now, out here in the cold vacuum of space, she didn't really like being the only one out here. She'd like nothing more for Sparky to be out here alongside her, but right now, that just wasn't possible. Sparky, Amarilla, and Juan Carlos were taking stock of the Discovery One's supplies for transfer over to the Leninov. Everything that would be useful on the trip back they were taking over to their ship. DC Hopely, Marusova, and Korolev would still be staying out of hibernation. The last thing they needed was to run out of food on the way back. Dizzy didn't know how much food the Leninov had, but she didn't think the food dispensers had been designed for more than a couple people on board at a time. There had been enough hibernation pods for all of them, with the exception of DC Hopely, Korolev, and Marusova. That left an intended crew of six, which was problematic, the Leninov's food dispensers were located in the rotating section, which was already in orbit at the time the Leninov launched, and as far as Dizzy knew, the NKVD had not packed extra food for them before they left.
Dizzy couldn't help but shudder. The idea of DC Hopely starving to death was not very comforting. She knew that DC Hopely would prefer to starve rather than try to save herself by swapping with someone in a hibernation pod, despite the fact that the pods filled their occupants with nutrient fluid. DC Hopely had a noble streak, Dizzy was afraid that DC Hopely actively put herself in harms away to minimise risk for others, and she was afraid that it would eventually get her killed, the compulsion to take all the risks was a strong and a dangerous one. Dizzy had said many prayers for DC Hopely's safety since she had joined her and Sparky on this wild ride that had become their lives.
Dizzy smirked, she could only imagine how bored she was going to be when this was all over. That boredom was going to make her a troublemaker back home. She would have to start doing pre-emptive penance.
The fuel transfer hoses began to extend into the Discovery One, Dizzy used her rocket pack to manoeuvre over to them. She guided the hoses into the Discovery One's fuelling ports, watching as they silently latched in.
That was something else that was hard to get used to about the vacuum of space, it was so incredibly quiet. The only thing that she could hear was her own breathing. The silence was maddening. So incredibly lonely, and it made Dizzy shudder. 'Sparky, hold me', she whispered to herself.
'What was that Dizzy? Everything all right out there?' DC Hopely's voice barked over the radio, causing Dizzy to jump a little in surprise.
'Yeah! Yeah, everything's fine, fuel hoses are latched in, you can go ahead and start the transfer', Dizzy said. Nice save, Dizzy Doo, she thought to herself.
'Affirmative, starting transfer, sit tight and we'll have you back inside in no time at all', DC Hopely said.
'Roger that', Dizzy said nodding her head instinctively, completely oblivious to the fact that DC Hopely couldn't see her nodding from her place aboard the Leninov. Dizzy felt herself jolt, as her safety line tugged at her, drawing her back towards the Leninov's airlock. Dizzy Doo had discovered much during her time outside. Space was beautiful and at the same time it was terrifying. It was full of things, like planets and stars, and at the same time it was so empty and lonely. She liked being out here in space, as part of the crew of the Leninov, but she didn't think she'd want to live out here.
Well, no, that wasn't true, it didn't matter where she was, as long as she had Sparky, DC Hopely, and the rest of her friends with her, everything would be alright. Dizzy returned to the Leninov's airlock, and as the door began to close, something caught Dizzy's eye. There was a momentary bright flash of light on the horizon of Tartarus for a moment, before disappearing completely. The airlock closed seconds later, leaving Dizzy unsure of what she had just seen.
…
Kelso had learned many things that she had never known about Viola Auditore. There was a shelf at in her bedroom that was filled with antique vinyl records, and incredibly obsolete compact magnetic tapes. Kelso pulled out one of the records and took a look at the cover, she was surprised to discover what it said. 'Concerto No.8, D minor', classical music, Kelso had not realised that Viola had such refined tastes. She looked over the cover and discovered something near the bottom. 'Composer: Octavia Auditore'.
'Octavia Auditore?' Kelso asked softly to herself.
'My grandmother', Viola said from behind her.
Kelso jumped in surprise, accidentally dropping the vinyl record and turned around instinctively to discover that Viola was leaning up against the door, smirking at her. 'Viola... I... uh...'
'Snooping? Kelso?' Viola said with a grin. 'I know what you're thinking, a brute of a mare like me? How can I possibly have refined tastes? Well, I got those from my grandmother. Octavia Auditore, master cellist, and composer, she played in the Manehattan symphony orchestra, and had the distinction of being the only earth pony to play a stringed instrument with them'.
'In her day?' Kelso asked.
'Ever', Viola said with a prideful grin. 'Strings are mostly regulated to unicorns, because their telekinesis offers them greater control, and refinement, but not my grandmother, she could outplay any unicorn, and they all knew it too. Unfortunately, I didn't inherent her talent, that ability seems to come and go without any explanation', Viola added with a shrug.
'She sounds like an interesting person', Kelso said.
'She was, she died when I was ten', Viola said with a frown. 'It was the end of an era, the world lost something great that day. She inspired me to become what I am today, I couldn't follow her into music, so I followed her the only way I could'.
'What? Was she a detective? I thought you said she was a musician?' Kelso asked.
Viola nodded as she trotted over and took a seat on her bed. 'My grandmother was an amazing person, Kelso, she had two careers, by day, she was a Detective Inspector for the Greater Manehattan Police, by night, and she was the master cellist. I followed her hoof steps into the former'.
'That's really interesting Viola', Kelso said as she picked the record back up off the floor and returned it to its place on the shelf.
'Not as interesting as the fact that you just called me Viola', she said with a grin.
Kelso froze, she realised that Viola was right. More than that, she was thinking of her as Viola instead of as DCI Auditore. Kelso wasn't sure when that had happened. Viola smiled at her and patted the spot on the bed next to her, gesturing for Kelso to take a seat. Kelso obliged her and sat down, it was odd; looking at her former boss didn't bring up feelings of bitterness anymore. Spending time with her in an informal setting had made Kelso realise that Viola Auditore wasn't quite the evil bent copper that she had thought. This experience... it had equineised her, she was a normal pony, and she had her flaws, her defects. Just like Kelso had hers. Viola Auditore had made some bad decisions in her life, and Kelso had been quick to damn her for it. Viola had wanted to change, and she had. Kelso realised that now. She saw past the hate, and discovered that Viola was a normal person.
Viola smiled warmly at her. 'What are you thinking about, Ana Kelso?' she asked.
'I'm thinking... I'm thinking that maybe you're not so bad after all', Kelso said. 'You've told me that you've changed... and I think... I think I believe you now'.
Viola's smile grew and she reached out and placed her hoof on Kelso's shoulder. 'I'm glad to hear it', she said softly.
Kelso felt her face begin to turn red. Viola winked at her, and leaned in close and planted a gentle kiss on Kelso's lips. Kelso closed her eyes, and she now knew it to be true. Viola Auditore wasn't so bad after all.